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As I entered the dining room, the only thing to be seen were empty chairs and the sun streaming in through the windows. My head tilted to one side in confusion as voices came from a nearby sitting room. Following the sound, I soon came upon an open space, where I saw Sebastian seated in one of the chairs, completely at ease, with his ankle resting on his knee as he perused a newspaper. He didn’t seem to acknowledge my presence, but I took a seat in a straight-backed chair opposite him. Between us, there was a golden tray of lunch food, which I helped myself to just as another man entered the room.
The sight of him was so unsettling that I couldn’t help but stare. He resembled a monster. His bald head reflected the light, and his left eye was a milky glass. His face was so scarred that it appeared almost deformed. Although he wasn’t as tall as Sebastian, he had a broad build. I witnessed him walk toward Sebastian, who finally set the newspaper aside and greeted the man with a handshake. Meanwhile, my attention turned to Sebastian, who responded with his usual smirk before rising from his seat.
“Belle, this is my barber.”
His barber?
The guy was scary, like some kind of abomination.
The man came over to me, and I felt myself shrink in my seat. He was so intimidating, and I tried not to look directly into his glass eye. I didn’t want to be rude.
Apparently, he had no such concerns as he stopped beside me and ran his fingers through my hair, quickly unbraiding it and shaking his head.
“So, can you fix it?” Sebastian asked.
“Fix what?” I interrupted before the barber could reply.
“I’m tired of staring at a bird’s nest on top of your head.”
I gasped, trying to swat away the barber’s hands. “I’m not letting you cut off my hair.”
Sebastian gave a dismissive look and regarded me as if I were being absurd. The barber then gathered my hair, loosely tying it back into a ponytail, and I felt a sense of relief as he moved away.
“I’m not having him cut it all off, but it needs to be cleaned, and the botched box dye job removed.”
“Won’t take long,” the barber said, his voice softer than I imagined. “A few hours, tops.”
Sebastian just nodded. “I have errands to run,” he said, focusing on me for the first time since I entered the room. Barclay appeared out of nowhere, handing him a coat. “If you need anything while I’m gone, Barclay will assist you.”
After Sebastian left, I was left feeling numb. He had thrown me a curveball and walked away, and although our strange arrangement should have made me immune to such things, it bothered me nonetheless.
“Come,” the barber said when Sebastian was gone.
I had no option but to rise from my seat. Although the man looked terrifying, I was certain that Sebastian wouldn’t have entrusted me to him if he posed any threat to my safety. Since I was going to be carrying his child, he wouldn’t want anything to happen to me. The barber gestured toward the hallway, indicating that I should follow him. I wondered if there was a complete salon within this castle. At this point, nothing would shock me.
* * *
There were way too many hallways in this castle. I followed the strange man down another passage that I’d never seen before. We weren’t walking for long before he stopped in front of a shiny black door. When he opened it, my eyebrows popped.
It was a custom barber shop, and much to my surprise, the walls were lined with traditional barbering tools that I never expected to find here. Obviously designed for one man, the space was intimate and small. The black and white tile floor sparkled, and my eyes danced between to the leather bound chair, the large mirror and the shiny raven colored washing bowl. The shop had all the classic trimmings one would expect, and the place was immaculately tidy.
I’d noticed in my time here that Sebastian didn’t leave often. Our single venture into town to buy clothing was the only time I was aware of. The more I discovered of this castle, the more it seemed to be set up to provide anything he could need, removing the necessity of ever leaving.
The thought crossed my mind that he seemed to dislike leaving the castle. I pondered the reason behind it. Hadn’t he mentioned he used to travel frequently for work? I wondered when that had changed.
“Sit,” the barber demanded, gesturing to the chair at the sink.
My heart raced as I followed his instructions, my nerves getting the better of me. When my captors first tried to dye my hair blonde, I would squirm and pull away from their hands. I didn’t want them to change my appearance, but it never ended well for me. They held me down with hard hands and used water so hot it stung my skin. The whole ordeal was a nightmare, and my stomach curdled as I remembered the way their calloused hands groped my body as I battled the acidic sensation of the peroxide sizzling into my scalp.
My confidence in my safety with this man was suddenly diminished. Although he hadn’t caused me any harm so far, it didn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t.
He draped a large black cape over me, and I tensed with him so close. If he noticed, he didn’t show it. I couldn’t help staring at the man as he moved around, gathering supplies. I couldn’t help but wonder how he acquired those scars and what had happened to him in the past.
Was it related to the scarring on Sebastian’s body?
I jumped at the sound of the man putting on black latex gloves, the noise reverberating through the room as the band hit his wrist. In a second, he was back at my side, his hand pushing back on the chair so quickly that I yelped in surprise.
As the barber arranged my hair in the washing bowl, I gazed up at him, watching his expression flicker with mild disgust as he removed the hair tie. Annoyed, I let out a huff. Did he ever take a look at himself in the mirror?
